Best roast potatoes revealed: cheap supermarket option impresses in blind taste test

A pile of crispy roast potatoes is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, but if you're short on time we've uncovered the tastiest frozen roasties that take next to no preparation.

Our independent consumer taste test pitted popular brands Aunt Bessie's and McCain roast potatoes against premium-style supermarket spuds from Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and more. 

We asked 76 people to blind-taste all the potatoes and rate each product for taste, texture, appearance and aroma.

There was a three-way tie at the top, with Aldi's brilliant roasties proving our top value option. Plus, we reveal the big brand that you might want to leave in the freezer aisle, as it scored a paltry 46% overall.

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Best frozen roast potatoes

Three products were equally enjoyed by our taste testing panel, including the cheapest on test, Aldi, and the priciest, Aunt Bessie's.

Completing the trio of Best Buys is Waitrose, which falls somewhere in the middle price-wise.

Best Buy & Great Value: Aldi Specially Selected Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes – 72%

£2.49 for 1kg (25p per 100g)

These tasty-looking potatoes also hit the spot once our testers bit into them. 

Most thought the outside had the right level of crispiness and the inside was just the right consistency – neither too hard nor too soft.

As the cheapest on test, these bargain spuds are a brilliant buy.

Available from Aldi.

Best Buy: Aunt Bessie's Duck Fat Roast Potatoes – 72%

£4 for 700g (57p per 100g)

Our panel thought these roast potatoes looked and tasted delicious.

The texture, both crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, was enjoyed by most, while more than half felt the flavour was spot-on.

They’re the only ones on test that use duck fat rather than beef fat. They're much pricier than our other top picks, but it's worth looking out for special offers and stocking up if you aren't near an Aldi or Waitrose.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Best Buy: Waitrose Frozen Roast Potatoes in Beef Fat – 72%

£2.75 for 800g (34p per 100g)

Waitrose’s roasties don’t equal the two other Best Buys for looks, but they are an even match for flavour, texture and aroma. 

Three-quarters of testers loved the texture of the inside of these potatoes, finding it just the right level of firmness.

Nearly two thirds loved the flavour, while more than half also relished the crispy crunch as you bite into them.

Available from Waitrose.

Check out our taste test results for other frozen food including pepperoni pizza and vanilla ice cream

How McCain, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and other supermarket roast potatoes compare

Morrisons was just a smidge behind the Best Buys, while Tesco and Asda also put in a reasonable showing. 

Sainsbury’s roast potatoes were the least liked of the supermarket offerings, but McCain sits very firmly at the bottom of the pile, scoring just 46%.

• Morrisons The Best Beef Fat Roast Potatoes – 70%. These potatoes match our Best Buys for flavour, with 62% of tasters finding both the strength of flavour and texture of the insides just right. Nearly half would’ve enjoyed a crispier outside. £2.75 for 800g (34p per 100g). Available from Morrisons.
• Tesco Finest Beef Fat Roast Potatoes – 67%. These potatoes scored decent marks across the board. More than half loved the texture of the insides, but a similar number wanted the outside to be crispier. £2.75 for 800g (34p per 100g). Available from Tesco.
• Asda Extra Special Beef Dripping Roast Potatoes – 66%. Most people loved the consistency of their insides, but more than a half wanted these spuds to have a stronger flavour. £2.75 for 800g (34p per 100g). Available from Asda.
• Sainsbury's Maris Piper Roast Potatoes with Beef Dripping, Taste the Difference – 63%. These potatoes weren’t terrible, but lost marks for texture. More than two-thirds felt they weren’t crisp enough on the outside and were too dry on the inside. £2.95 for 1kg (30p per 100g). Available from Sainsbury's.
• McCain Frozen Roast Potatoes – 46%. These pasty-looking potatoes scored worse than the all other potatoes for looks, aroma, flavour and texture. More than two-thirds felt they lacked flavour, while three-quarters wanted a crispier outside. £3 for 700g (43p per 100g). Available from Amazon, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

We focused on premium-style frozen roast potatoes for this test, where either beef fat or goose fat is used to enhance the flavour. All the brands offer vegetarian or vegan roasties, too.

Bag sizes vary between 700g and 1kg, so keep an eye out to check you're comparing like with like when it comes to price.

Best vs worst roast potatoes

The picture above shows Aunt Bessie's potatoes on the left, and McCain on the right, from our taste test.

By looks alone, it's not hard to guess which potatoes our tasters preferred. 

We cooked the potatoes according to the instructions on the packet, so there's no excuse for unappetising results.

Are frozen roast potatoes healthy?

All potatoes on test had an amber rating for total fat content and, on average, you get 4-5g fat per small portion. McCain's were significantly higher in overall fat, and were also the only potatoes on test to have an amber light for saturated fat. 

Salt levels are low to middling – Aunt Bessie’s lead the field here with more than double the amount of other potatoes.

According to the packaging, a serving size of potatoes is around 120g. This equates to two or three potatoes, depending on their size.

How long should I cook roast potatoes for?

For the potatoes in our test, instructions on the pack generally state 30-35 minutes cooking time.

They should be cooked from frozen, and a hot oven is needed for best results: either 220°C (gas mark 7) or 200°C if the oven has a fan.

An air-fryer can do the job too and is more energy efficient if you're only cooking a few spuds.

Find out which are the best air fryers from our independent tests

How we tested frozen roast potatoes

The roast potatoes were assessed in October 2023 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume frozen roast potatoes. The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. 

Each brand of roast potato was assessed by 76 people. The panellists rated the taste, texture, aroma and appearance of each brand of potato and told us what they liked and disliked about each one. 

The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they tasted the roast potatoes was fully rotated to avoid any bias. Each panellist had a private booth, so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 20% appearance
• 15% aroma
• 15% texture.

These weightings are based on how consumers rank the importance of different attributes of roast potatoes.

How to recycle roast potato packaging

The plastic bags that roast potatoes are packaged in shouldn't be put in household recycling.

Check your local supermarket. Larger stores often offer recycling for this material. Or head to Terracycle to find a public drop-off point in your area. 

Price and availability checked December 2023.